The proposed 5.79 percent hike in rail freight charges is expected to have a negative impact on the margins of the cement industry besides, increasing the cost by up to Rs 4 per bag, according to research firm India Ratings.

Passengers on Tuesday gave mixed reactions to the Rail Budget with a section welcoming it as there was no fare hike and others expressing unhappiness over trains not being announced to their home towns.

Ban on iron ore exports from Karnataka and Goa has significantly impacted Indian Railways' freight revenue from the segment, and it has projected just about 3.77 percent growth in income from the movement of the mineral in 2013-14.

North Western Railway (NWR) got 12 new express trains to various locations besides five passengers trains in the Rail Budget 2013-14 presented by the Railways minister today, a senior official said here.

Eleven out of the 67 newly announced express trains either originate or pass through the capital, while a study will be undertaken for construction of a terminal at Bijwasan railway station near the airport here.

Analysts on Tuesday gave a mixed reaction to the railway budget, with some terming it as a "non-event" saying there were no radical measures to bridge the revenue deficit in the document, and a few calling it "pragmatic" given the limitations.

Raising hopes of smooth and much faster online bookings of rail tickets, Railways Minister P K Bansal Tuesday said a new e-ticketing system will be deployed by December-end which will allow 7,200 bookings per minute against the present 2,000.

Share prices of companies that cater to the railway sector like Stone India, Kernex Microsystems and Kalindee Rail tanked by as much as 16 percent in the absence of big ticket announcements in the Rail Budget on Tuesday.

In an apparent response to China bettering its transport infrastructure along its western frontiers, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday announced that Arunachal Pradesh will get its first rail line this year.

"The suburban commuters had a lot of expectations from Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. But his budget has been disappointing in many ways," National Railway Users' Consultative Committee member Subhash Gupta said.